Clemens Proves He Still Has the Right Stuff

Roger Clemens thinks he’s still the same power pitcher who has dominated baseball much of his career. He could be right.

Clemens gave up one run in seven innings to get his 249th win in the New York Yankees’ 7-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday at Yankee Stadium.

“It’s pretty much the same stuff I’ve been taking out there,” Clemens said. “I’m throwing as hard as ever, I’ve gotten beat with some poor off-speed pitches. Maybe I was trying too hard to pitch not to give up runs.”

Clemens (2-2) yielded seven hits and two walks in seven innings. He struck out eight and moved into 38th place on the victory list.

“The last time out, he had the same stuff but he got into bad counts,” Yankee Manager Joe Torre said. “For the most part, he had hitters on the defensive [today].”

Paul O’Neill’s three-run double in the fifth off Roy Halladay (2-4) broke a scoreless tie. Clemens did the rest.

“I think he’s always going to be like Nolan Ryan,” said Toronto’s Darrin Fletcher, who caught Clemens with the Blue Jays. “He’s a classic power pitcher. He’s going to go down to the end of his career challenging guys with his fastball.”

Kansas City 6, Seattle 3--Jermaine Dye of the Royals had a run-scoring double at Kansas City to cap one of the most productive Aprils in club history.

Dye, the first player in major league history to have 10 home runs and 10 doubles before May 1, closed out the month leading the league with 11 homers, 83 total bases, 12 doubles, 23 extra-base hits and an .847 slugging percentage.

His 11 homers and 28 RBIs are both club records for the month.

Mark Quinn hit a two-run homer in the second inning and Joe Randa had a two-run homer in the eighth. The Royals had a 10-2 home record in April.

Oakland 8, Minnesota 2--Staked to a three-run lead before he took the mound at Minneapolis, Tim Hudson faced only three batters over the minimum through six innings and rookie Adam Piatt continued his hot hitting to lead the Athletics.

Hudson (3-2) pitched 7 2/3 innings, giving up six hits and a walk while striking out 10. Piatt hit his first major league home, two triples and drove in three runs. He is eight for 19 since being called up from triple-A Sacramento last Monday.

Texas 8, Baltimore 4--Ivan Rodriguez broke out of a slump with two homers and a double at Baltimore as the Rangers ended a four-game losing streak.

Rodriguez had only two hits in 22 at-bats before he led off the sixth inning with a double and scored the go-ahead run. He hit a solo homer in the seventh and added a two-run shot off Mike Timlin in the ninth.

Baltimore’s nine-game home win streak came to an end. The Orioles, who had an early 3-0 lead, had not lost at Camden Yards since opening day.

Detroit 4, Chicago 3--Bobby Higginson’s single in the 12th inning at Detroit drove home Brad Ausmus, giving the Tigers only their first win in six games against the White Sox.

Scott Eyre walked Ausmus to lead off the 12th. One out later, Juan Gonzalez had an infield single and Higginson followed with a single to center.